Flow shut-off mechanism



Sept. 29, 1936.

W. S. BRUBAKER ET AL 1 FLOW SHUT-OFF MECHANISM Original Filed Sept. 26, 1934 Patented Sept. 29, 1936 FLOW SHUT-OFF-MECIIANISM oakland an'd' Armas J. Saarinen, San Francisco, Calif., assignors to Granberg Meter Corporation, San Francisco, Calif., a corporation of California Walter S. Brubaker,

Original application September 26, 1934, Serial No. 745,628. Divided and this application February 27, 1936, Serial No. 66,126

1 Claim. (01. 137 439) This application is a division of .our U. S. application Serial No. 745,628 filed September 26, 1934, now Patent. No; 2,046,304, granted June 30, 1936, and covering automatic control means 5 adaptable, for instance, to flow shut-off mechanisms for stopping flow of liquid through a discharge line when a predetermined quantity has been discharged through said line, such apparatus being used primarily in dispensing gasoline, fuel 10 oils, etc.

In apparatus such as that above mentioned, it is customary to provide a spring-closed shut-off valve which is moved to open position by means of a hand. lever and is latched open by a meterl5 actuated control mechanism until a predetermined quantity of liquid has been metered and discharged, the latch means being then automatically released to allow the valve to close. In such mechanisms, it has heretofore been neces- 20 sary that the valve-closing spring shall overcome the inertia of the hand lever and swing said lever as the valve closes. This not only tends to prevent instantaneous valve-closing, but there is danger of the hand lever, usually moving with considerable speed and force, injuring any bystander within reach of said lever. Our invention, however, provides a new and improved mechanism in which the hand lever is not moved by closing of the valve, permitting more nearly instantaneous valve-closing and overcoming danger of injury.

Figures 1 and 2 are respectively a top plan view and a fragmentary side elevation showing the invention.

35 Figure 3 is a fragmentary side elevation showing a somewhat different hand lever.

In the drawing above briefly described, a valve body 5 is shown in a discharge line 6 leading to a meter 1. Within the body 5 is a self-closing valve 40 8 and while it is possible to make provision for closing the valve by dropping of a weight, We prefer that said valve be spring-closed and we have illustrated a spring 9 to move said valve to closed position.

45 The opening means for the valve 8 has been shown as comprising a stem I connected with said valve, a handle or lever II and separable means I2 and I3 for establishing an operative connection between said handle or lever andsaid stem. The portion I2 of the connecting means (I2 and I3) is preferably in the form of a head secured upon the outer end of the stem III, and the portion I3 of said means is shown in Fig. 2 as a nose on the handle or lever I I. If it be de- 55 sired in certain installations that the lever II Fig. 3 may be employed. In this view, I I denotes PAT NT OFFICE shall project in the opposite direction from that shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the arrangement shown in the handle or lever and I3 denotes a portion between the ends of said lever to coact with the 5 head I2 of the stem ID to open the valve when the lever is swung in the proper direction. A spring I4 is provided for swinging the handle or lever II or II to a retracted position after the valve has been latched open and a suitable stop 10 is provided to limit the movement of the lever under the influence of said spring. In Fig. 2, the stop is shown at I5 between the ends of the lever II, whereas in Fig. 3, a corresponding stop I5 is shown at one end of the lever Il Either l5 stop is cooperable with a suitable bracket [6 carried by the valve body 5, the handle or lever II or II being fulcrumed upon a pin I! in the bifurcated upper end of said bracket.

We have shown means for latching the valve in open position, as comprising a bell crank I8 fulcrumed upon the pin I! and connected at I9 with the head I2, a rod 20 pivoted at one of its ends to said bell crank, a second bell crank 2| mounted on the meter 1 and pivoted to the other end of said rod 20, a short rod 22 connected with the bell-crank 2I, and a meter-actuated control mechanism 23 for holding said rod 22 in the position to which it is moved by opening of the valve 8, until a predetermined quantity of liquid had been discharged and metered. The control mechanism 23 may be considered as of the construction disclosed in our parent application Serial No. 745,628, or of other equivalent form. It will also be understood that the means for latching the valve in open position need not necessarily embody the exact elements herein disclosed, but could be of other adequate construction.

The parts normally stand as seen in Figs. 2 4 and 3, the valve 8 being then closed. When liquid is to be discharged, however, the handle or lever II or Il is operated to slide the stem III inwardly, thus forcing the valve 8 to open position. This inward sliding of the stem I0 causes 4 movement of the parts I8, 20, 2| and 22 and when this movement is complete, said part 22 is latched by the mechanism 23, thus holding the valve 8 open. As soon as the valve has been thus latched in open position, the handle or lever I I or II is released, whereupon the spring I4 returns said handle or lever to its original position. In this position, referring to lever II, its nose I3 is out of contact with and spaced upwardly from the head I2, or referring to the lever ll", its portion l3 is out of contact with and spaced upwardly from said head. Thus, when the mechanism 23 releases the member 22, the valve may close without causing any movement of the handle or lever H or II. More instantaneous valve-closing is thus permitted as it is not necessary to overcome the inertia of the handle or lever. Moreover, this handle or lever is not jerked by the closing of the valve and there is thus no possibility of it striking any bystander.

For most installations, the arrangement shown in Figs. 1 and 2 can be employed. However, if it be necessary to install the shut-off valve at the discharge side of the meter instead of at the admission side thereof, necessitating that the rod 20 project in the opposite direction (see Fig. 3), the hand lever II will be employed. This arrangement is also advisable in rare cases where it is necessary to reverse the cover of the meter due to its position on a truck or elsewhere, in order that the operator may read the register.

It will be seen from the foregoing that novel and advantageous means have been provided for carrying out the object of the invention. While preferred details of construction have been illustrated, it is to be understood that the present disclosure is illustrative rather than limiting and that numerous variations may be made within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed is:

In a flow cut-off mechanism, a valve having a fixed body and a slidable operating stem projecting from said body, a bracket secured to said body and disposed near said stem, a hand lever free of connection with said stem and fulcrumed on said bracket in position to abut said stem and move it to valve-open position when said lever is operated, said lever when released being swingable to its original position, a bell crank fulcrumed on said bracket and operatively connected with said stem, and releasable means for holding the valve open, said releasable means being connected to said bell crank.

WALTER S. BRUBAKER.

ARMAS J. SAARINEN. 

